NRL 2022: Parramatta Eels defeat Wests Tigers 28-20, Nathan Brown opens up on contract saga
Exiled Parramatta forward Nathan Brown has spoken about his axing from first grade, the ongoing battle surrounding his hefty contract - and where his future lies.
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Recalled Parramatta forward Nathan Brown said the past month has “been very tough” as he made his return to the top grade against the Tigers on Saturday night.
Brown has been in the headlines in recent weeks since being axed from the NRL. He has languished in reserve grade since round 14 and now faces an uncertain future at the Eels after being given permission to leave the club.
“It’s good to be back,” Brown said.
“The legs don’t feel too bad. I always want to play first grade. I really enjoyed it.”
Despite having 12 months left on his $500,000 contract the ex-NSW forward is unlikely to remain at the Eels. His adversaries on Saturday night may be yet be his likely destination with the Tigers discussing a potential homecoming for the junior Tiger – who played one first grade game at the club in 2013.
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Brown said he has had little dialogue with coach Brad Arthur about his place in the top grade.
“It’s been very tough,” Brown said. “I would be lying if I said it wasn’t tough but it’s footy. You have to deal with it.
“(Arthur) hasn’t said much at all to be honest.”
When asked if he had clarity on his future Brown replied; “nothing at the moment”.
He was solid in his NRL comeback starting off the bench. Brown played 39 minutes finishing with 88 metres from his 10 runs and 10 tackles.
Brown was a late inclusion for Saturday’s game after Ryan Matterson again failed to play because of an ongoing rib injury. Junior Paulo was also missing the match ahead of Wednesday’s State of Origin.
Brown said the Eels “made it hard on ourselves” despite finishing eight point victors.
“We didn’t get to our kick,” Brown said. “Our game plan was to turn their big boys around and kick to the corners. We didn’t do that. Once we started doing that the points came off the back of that. “We have to play for 80 minutes next week.”
The Eels play the Warriors on Friday.
EELS PUNISH GALLANT TIGERS AFTER ROOKIE’S MISTAKE
- By Martin Gabor
Forget about a rollercoaster. Leichhardt Oval must have felt like a haunted house for the Parramatta Eels for the first 30 minutes on Saturday night, only for a sin-binning to flip the game on its head as they came from behind to leave the Wests Tigers rooted to the bottom of the ladder and on a slippery slide to the wooden spoon.
The 28-20 win looks a lot better on paper than it does in reality but it keeps Parramatta’s top-four hopes alive after they avoided what would have been their second loss of the season to the out-of-sorts Tigers.
The hosts had the early running and punished a couple of Parramatta errors to run in the first two tries of the night, but the dismissal of debutant Justin Matamua paved the way for three tries in nine minutes to give the Eels an unlikely half-time lead.
It was the spark they needed to bounce back from last week’s ugly loss to the Rabbitohs and has them in fifth spot approaching the run home to the finals.
“We had a couple of tries disallowed and it felt like it was going to be one of those nights,” Brad Arthur said. “When we’ve had tried disallowed early in games, things have snowballed out of control, so I thought we took control pf the game back well.”
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ORIGINAL SIN
Matamua will never forget his first NRL game.
The 19-year-old is one of the great stories in what’s been an otherwise bleak season for the joint venture.
He came through the system to make his debut at the eighth wonder of the world where he was given a standing ovation by the Leichhardt faithful.
But the moment lasted just three minutes when he was sent from the field for 10 minutes for hitting Mitch Moses late and high after he put in a kick that led to Parramatta’s first try.
He apologised as he left the field and was promptly given another standing ovation, but the penalty proved to be costly.
It sparked a disastrous run into the break that saw Luke Brooks give away possession with a kick early in the count before the Eels raced in two quick tries, including a stunning team effort that finished with a Brooks air swing that was punished by Reed Mahoney.
LEAK WEEK GETS WORSE
The week started with Brooks calling out club officials for the constant leaks that have put him and other players in the headlines, and it ended with the Tigers at the bottom of the ladder.
The Tigers have dropped to 16th with the Titans moving ahead of them on points differential thanks to two handy bye points, and it only gets tougher with back-to-back games against the competition’s top-two teams coming up.
Brooks has often been made the scapegoat for his side’s struggles, and while he set up a couple of tries for David Nofoaluma late in the game, things just didn’t go his way.
His kick helped swing momentum Parramatta’s way, and he then copped a big fend from Moses as his former teammate strolled through to score the first try of the second half.
Adam Doueihi’s switch to right centre was uneventful and it’s time for interim coach Brett Kimmorley to make a massive call about who his halves will be for the rest of the season because the Tigers need Doueihi to handle the ball as often as possible.
The one positive was the performance of Isaiah Papali’i. Unfortunately for the Tigers, he’s still an Eel for a few more months and his try came off the boot of Moses, who used to call Leichhardt home.
RCG SENDS A MESSAGE
There must be something we’re not seeing because Reagan Campbell-Gillard should be getting ready for the State of Origin series decider.
Instead, he put in a Herculean performance for Parramatta to send a not-so-subtle message to Blues coach Brad Fittler.
The Eels enforcer ran for 91 metres, made 29 tackles and scored a try in a fantastic opening 52-minute stint that has many wondering why he was dropped after the Origin opener.
It was exactly what his team needed with front-row partner Junior Paulo in Origin camp while Ryan Matterson was ruled out late because of a rib complaint.
“He showed how he handled [not getting picked] because I put some ownership and accountability on him to lead from the front,” Arthur said. “He really led the forwards and never looked tired at any stage.”
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